Recent years have seen a sharp decline in the number of Australians visiting the United States. The experts we spoke to think this dip may be short-lived. Sara Dolnicar, a prominent academic in tourism studies, anticipates a quick rebound in the number of Australian travelers heading to the US. She thinks this possible rebound is a result of how much Australians want to visit the US. Some of the current reluctance is due to negative currency valuations and security worries.
In March 2024, 59,859 Australians visited the US. This is a 7.1 percent decrease from last year at the same month. Over that period, 64,418 Australians visited the country. In total, 201,867 Australians—unlikely to be just tourists—have made it to the US in 2023 so far, signaling a small but impactful change in travel behavior.
Dolnicar wants the focus to land squarely on two important considerations—currency and value—which are driving Australian travelers’ decisions right now. Worldcoin inflation As you can see, the Australian dollar has recently fallen below 60 US cents for the first time since April 2020. This continuing decline has increased the cost of traveling to the US for Australians. With currency values shifting significantly, a lot of potential travelers are reconsidering trips. They need to be more confident about their financial and health safety nets before returning to normal activity.
Dean Long, CEO of the Accommodation Association of Australia, supports Dolnicar’s findings. Among several important trends, he calls attention to the significant drop in travel demand to the US in recent months. Many Australians remain eager to visit, but they are choosing to delay their trips due to safety concerns regarding travel security and border policies.
It seems to be that way in other countries as well. The UK has experienced a 14.3 percent decrease in people coming to the US this year over last. That’s up to 1,500 British tourists who aren’t making the trip. Professor Sarah Gardiner suggests that variations in visitor numbers might stem from different methodologies employed in data collection across countries.
So while Australians’ intent to travel continues to drop, the US remains a highly desirable destination for many Australians. One international travel agency’s recent survey brings that trend into sharp focus. It indicates that 8 percent of travelers want to go to this international hotspot in fall 2024, which ranks it among the most popular destinations. This is proof that although the short-term figures can look grim, interest – and intent – to visit the US over the long term is still very healthy.
The Easter holiday travel period, now upon us as well, only adds to the intricacies of implementing all these changes. Easter Sunday, for instance, occurs on March 31 in 2024 and on April 20 in 2025. This timing difference can impact new travel patterns and the number of visitors for each of those years. First, families need to plan their vacations around these holidays.
These patterns have recently been observed by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). In March 2025, there were 55,870 Australians who had recently come home from visiting the US. That’s up from 50,650 during the same time last year. This is a stunning jump at a time when the pandemic has unsettled travel patterns. Less Australians are travelling to the United States, but those that do are returning home more frequently.
